Themes

Themes are the fundamental and often universal ideas
explored in a literary work.

The
Search for Spiritual Enlightenment

In Siddhartha, an unrelenting search
for truth is essential for achieving a harmonious relationship with
the world. The truth for which Siddhartha and Govinda search is
a universal understanding of life, or Nirvana. Siddhartha and Govinda
both have a fundamental desire to understand their lives through
spirituality, seek to do this by reaching Nirvana, and start with
the conviction that finding Nirvana is possible. Although Nirvana
leads to a perfect relationship with the world and is thus an end
goal that each man aspires to reach, Siddhartha and Govinda differ
in what they’re willing to do in search for this truth. In Siddhartha’s
case, when he becomes suspicious that one path may lead to a dead
end, he quickly alters his course. He is willing to abandon the
path of the Brahmins for the path of the Samanas, to leave the Samanas
for Gotama, and then to make a radical departure from spiritual
teachers and search in the material world with Kamala and Kamaswami.
He does not relent in his search and instead continues to follow
whatever path becomes available if he has clearly not yet reached
Nirvana.

Govinda is much less flexible in his quest for spiritual
enlightenment. In his quest, he restricts himself to the spiritual
and religious world and persists in his need for teachers. Although
Siddhartha is willing to break with religion itself and to abandon
all his training, Govinda is willing to seek truth only as long
as it appears within the narrow confines of Hinduism or Buddhism
and is transmitted by a respected teacher. As a result, Govinda
is unable to see the truth around him, since he is limited by his
belief that truth will appear in the way he has been taught by his
teachers. This distinction between Siddhartha’s unrelenting search
and Govinda’s limited search is the reason why Govinda can attain
enlightenment only through an act of grace on Siddhartha’s part,
whereas Siddhartha is able to find truth through his own powers.

Inner vs. Exterior
Guidance

In Siddhartha, Siddhartha learns that
enlightenment cannot be reached through teachers because it cannot
be taught—enlightenment comes from within. Siddhartha begins looking
for enlightenment initially by looking for external guidance from
organized religion in the form of Brahmins, Samanas, and Buddhists.
When these external spiritual sources fail to bring him the knowledge
and guidance he needs, he discards them for Kamala and Kamaswami
in the material world, again using an external source in his quest. These
sources also fail to teach him wisdom, and he knows he must now
find wisdom on his own. This realization itself comes from within.
Siddhartha leaves the Brahmins, the Samanas, Gotama, and the material
world because he feels dissatisfied, not because an external source
tells him to go. His eventual attainment of Nirvana does not come
from someone imparting the wisdom to him but instead through an
internal connection to the river, which he finds contains the entire
universe.

Vasudeva is a teacher of sorts for Siddhartha, and thus
an external guide, but Vasudeva never attempts to tell Siddhartha
what the meaning of life is. Instead, Vasudeva directs Siddhartha
to listen to the river and search within himself for an understanding
of what the river says. Vasudeva does not tell Siddhartha what the
river will say, but when Siddhartha reveals what the river has told
him, Vasudeva simply acknowledges that he too has received the same
wisdom. The river itself never actually tells Siddhartha what its
revelations mean. Instead, the river reveals the complexity of existence
through sound and image, and Siddhartha meditates on these revelations
in order to gain an understanding of them. Govinda, on the other
hand, persists in looking to teachers for his wisdom, and in the
end, asks Siddhartha to teach him the path to enlightenment. Because
of this reliance on an external explanation, Govinda continuously
fails to find Nirvana. His final success, however, does not come
as explicit directions from Siddhartha on how to achieve enlightenment. Instead,
Siddhartha acts as a conduit for Govinda, as the river did for him.
He asks Govinda to kiss his forehead, an act that enables Govinda
to see the nature of existence in an instant. Govinda’s final revelation
thus comes through his own interpretation of what Siddhartha shows
him in the kiss. Though interior and exterior paths to enlightenment
are both explored in Siddhartha, the exterior path is
roundly rejected. Nirvana comes from within.

The Wisdom of Indirection

Throughout the novel, Siddhartha pursues Nirvana differently,
and though at first his tactics are aggressive and deliberate, he
eventually finds that a more indirect approach yields greater rewards.
Both Siddhartha and Govinda initially seek Nirvana aggressively
and directly. Govinda remains dedicated to the relentless practice
of Buddhist devotions that are specifically intended to bring about enlightenment,
but Siddhartha eventually rejects these methods and instead relies
on intuition for guidance. Siddhartha points out that by focusing
only on the goal of Nirvana, Govinda failed to notice the tiny clues
along the way that would have pointed him in the right direction.
In effect, Govinda tries too hard. Siddhartha ultimately understands
that because the essence of enlightenment already exists within
us and is present in the world at every moment, prescriptive paths
simply lead us further from ourselves and from the wisdom we seek.
An indirect approach is more likely to take into account all elements
of the world and is therefore better able to provide the necessary
distance from which to see the unity of the world.